Vehicle ventilator



7 Oct. 22, 1935. w STONEHOUSE 2,017,996

VEHICLE VENTILATOR Filed June 22, 1933 \s k\xo mj if: it: 3.3 IINVENTOR.

W'zlliam A? Sfonelzaizse Patented Oct. 22, 1935 'UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to ventilators for vehicles having slidingwindows, and more particularly to improved means for controlling thein-' flow and withdrawal of air to and from the closed bodies ofpassenger automobiles. An important object of the invention is theprovision of an extremely simple and inexpensive device utilizable inconjunction with each or any of the sliding windows with which closedmotorcars are commonly provided, enabling the admission of an amplequantity of air into the vehicle for ventilation Without the creation ofundesirable drafts, which does not interfere with vision through thewindow to which it is appurtenant, and is very simple and economical ofconstruction, sturdy and fool-proof.

A further object is the provision of such a ventilator adapted topromote the withdrawal of air by suction from the front portion of awindow opening and regulatable by raising and lowering of the windowwithout requiring special adjustment of accessory apparatus.

Another object is the provision of such a ventilator having an inflowportion and means for separately regulating the same, but so arranged asto be controllable also by opening and closing the window to which it isappurtenant in the usual way, and which also defines an outflow sectionof the window opening regulatable by operation of the window.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription, wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawingillustrating preferred embodiments of my invention and wherein similarreference numerals designate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of an automobile body ofthe sedan type, the door windows of which are shown equipped with myimproved ventilators;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of a portion of the body,showing a partly opened door equipped with a ventilator;

Figures Sand 4 are sectional views taken substantially on the lines 3-3and 4-4 respectively of Figure 2 and looking in the direction of thearrows;

Figure 5 is an elevational view of the inside of one of the doors,partly broken away, showing the ventilator and fragmentarily showingadjacent portions of the body;

Figure 6 is a similar inside elevational view of the upper portion of adoor and immediately adjacent body portions, showing a somewhat modifiedembodiment of the invention adapted for accessory installation upon analready completed vehicle, and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the 5 opposite side of aventilator of such modified form, removed from the door.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to Figures 1 to 5inclusive, the motor vehicle fragmentarily shown for illustrative pur-10 poses will be seen to be of the four-door sedan type, the body,generally designated It, being equipped with vertically slidablewindows, as I2, in the doors l3 thereof. The windows may be controllableby means of suitable regulating l5 handles as IS. The doors are shown asof hollow steel construction, although this obviously is not essential.The windows l2 are slidable in channeled guides ll and when fully raisedfit in a similar top channel l1 extending across the 20 bottom of thedoor header 13'.

As is well. known, when such a closed automobile is moving forwardrelatively to the air,

a partial vacuum is formed immediately out side the front portion of thefront windows I2, 25 so that when one of these windows is opened orpartially opened air is drawn out of the vehicle through the frontportion of the window opening, while the natural eddying of the aircurrents tends to force air into the vehicle through the 30 back portionof the'same opening. This tendency of the air to enter the rear portionof the open window creates strong objectionable drafts inside the body,and in fact all methods now in common use of introducing air into such ave- 35 hicle tend to create strong drafts which are either worse in theback than in the front portion of the car, or tend to strike theoccupants of the front seat in the head or neck.

To obviate these defects, which are inherent in attempts to regulate thesupplying and exhaustion of air to and from an enclosed motorcar bodyentirely by adjustment of the conventional sliding windows, I propose tofurnish, appurtenant the upper portion of whichever of the 45 windowsmay be desired to be provided with such additional regulation, such aconstruction as is shown in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive, which may beincorporated in the body during manufacture.

The preferred arrangement includes a glass 50 baffle 20 angularlyarranged adjacent the upper rear portion of each window, and preferablyextending forwardly to a distance somewhat more than half the windowswidth. The baffie designated 20 is so arranged that it lies close to the55 glass along its bottom edge and at the top is somewhat spacedtherefrom, but substantially blocks the rear portion of the space overthe 7 window when the glass is partially lowered, leaving the forwardportion of such space unobstructed, however. As noted above, when such aclosed car is in motion the area outside the front portionsof thewindows, particularly the front windows, represents a low pressure areawhich tends to draw air out of the car through these portions of thewindows when open; The unbafiled area 30 lying in this field thus servesas an air outlet regulatable by means of the window.

While the area'immediately outside the rear portion of each window isone of higher pressure, and'air tends to flow into the car through theseI portions, the baiile prevents unrestricted inflow through this'portionof the window. A boxlike housing generally designated 22 overhangs therear portion of the baflle, as best shown in Figure 2, forming'acontrollable ventilator inlet when the window [2 is lowered from thetop, as.

best shown in Figure 3, wherein the inlet is designated 23. Acontinuation of the housing extends downwardly about the rear end of thebafile, preferably in a smooth curve, to direct the air currents intothe interior of the car in a downward inner door panel.

discharge with the least possible resistance to the inflow andturbulence. This downwardly extending portion, constituting an air ductand designated 24, may be formed integrally'with the It is provided witha downward and forwardly opening discharge aperture ranged in the duct24, here shown appurtenant the outlet 25, to regulate the inflow of air.A

handle 28 may project integrally from the damper and through the outletopening 25 to enable convenient manipulation of the damper. It will beseen that the arrangement is such that when the window is loweredsubstantially to the point 6 shown, the unbafiled' area forward of theplate 20 and constituting the discharge opening, lies entirely withinthe outside area which is normally at reduced pressure when the vehicleis in V motion. Movement of the vehicle through the air accordinglyproduces suction tending to draw air out of c the vehicle through theopening 30, while through the inlet 23, opening in the direction inwhich the vehicle is moving and lying in an area of increased pressure,air is forced in relatively large quantities when the damper 2! is open.The direction in which the air so. introduced is discharged by theoutlet 25, moreover, is

such that the injected air cannot disturb the occupants of the vehicleby causing direct drafts, for the air is projected downwardly andforwardly close to the glass and not toward the occupants.

If the inlet duct and housing portion be formed 7 integrally with theinner door panel of a hollow door, it is of course immaterial where theoutlet 25 be located, and it may be in a lower portion of the door ifdesired, or arranged to discharge at any point or in any direction.

The baffle plate 20 may be retained by a sheet metal clamping channel 29carried by and forming a continuation of the hood and duct portions 722-24, and it will be seen that if transparent glass is used in thebaflle, the ventilator does not affect visibility through the windowopening to any material degree. c 5

If it is desired to install such a ventilator upon an already completedcar, it may, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, be formed as an accessorydevice, the body of which comprises a sheet metal duct portion 24ahaving a marginal flange 32 insert- 10 able in the window channelalongside the glass, as best shown in Figure 6, and retaining means maybe provided, such as the hooks 33 loosely secured in and'projecting fromthe duct portion and shown held by nuts 34. The stem portions 15 of thesecuring hooks are somewhat smaller in diameter than the holes in theduct portion through which they project, so that the hooks may beswiveled to any desired position within limits to adapt them to overhangand secure the 20 accessory to the beading designated 35 surrounding thewindow openings of cars having such portions of variant dimensions. Theends of the hooks are threaded to receive the nuts 34 for a lengthsufficient to permit securing the device 25 to such beading portions ofvarious widths to hold the accessory in position in the manner bestshown in Figure 6. When so arranged the bafile 28a projects angularlybeside the upper portion of the window opening in a manner similar to 30the arrangement of the previously described bafile 20. Other portions ofthis accessory embodiment will also be seen to be analogous, and haveaccordingly been given like reference numerals to those used indescribing the first embodiment, 8| with the addition of thedistinguishing character a.

The partition 26 forming the front wall of the duct portion 24a mayassist in supporting the bafiie-retaining channel 29a, and such channel40 may also be secured at its top to the hood portion 22a in similarrelation to the flange 32 which determines the position of the devicerelatively to the window opening. The outlet portion 25a of the duct.24a maybe formed as an'integral continuation thereof, and the entireduct'may have no wall on its side facing the glass 12a of the window,its edges and the'edge of the damper 21a being arranged to lie close tothe window glass when the latter is closed. The damperis shown pivotedbetween the rear wall of the duct portion 24a and the bottom of thepartition 26, and controllable by an integrally extending handle 28a.The operation of this embodiment will I also be seen to be similar tothat previously described. T

While the accessory embodiment last described. consumes slightly moreofthe'window opening, this form also will be seen to use so littleof thisspace as to interfere virtually not at all with 00 visibility throughthe window, the only opaque portion comprising a small portion of theduct arranged in the upperrear corner of the window. The outlet area(30) formed by the device when the window glass is lowered all the wayto the bottom of the baflie is adequate to assure the exhaustion ofample quantities of air therethrough when the vehicle is in motion orany breeze is blowing past the windows, while the exhaustion is alsoaided by the positive injection of air into the body through the inlets.Further, such injection prevents the uncomfortable reduction of pressurewithin the vehicle noticeable with some ventilating systems where vacuumtype outlets are provided without the proper 'incorporation of air inletmeans. Moreover, despite such positive injection of air when the inletsare open, by reason of the manner of its discharge into the vehicle, nodrafts are created, yet the air is constantly changed and circulated,and smoke, fumes and humid air quickly removed.

While it will be apparent that the illustrated embodiments of myinvention herein disclosedare well calculated to adequately fulfill theob-- jects and advantages primarily stated, it is to be understood thatthe invention is susceptible to variation, modification and changewithin the spirit and scope of the subjolned claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a vehicle body, ventilating means thereforincluding a window opening having a vertically slidable window closuretherein, a baffle angularly arranged near the top of the opening andlying closer to the plane of the closure at its bottom than at its top,said bafiie being opened at its ends, whereby air may flow through theopening around either end of the bafiie, and regulatable means forcontrolling the flow of air around the rear end of the baflie.

2. In combination with a vehicle body movable through the air,ventilating means therefor including a window opening having a slidablewindow closure and lying in an area throughout which the pressure variesfrom positive to negative when the vehicle is in motion, a baffleextending longitudinally of the top of the Window opening and close tobut out of the plane of the closure, said baffle stopping short of thefront of the opening in a relatively low and normally negative pressurearea to provide an outlet open to the exterior, and also having its'rearend open to the exterior in a higher pressure area, the front end of theopening being left unobstructed except for the closure, and regulablemeans arranged to obturate the inlet formed by the open rear end of thebaflie and regulate the infiow of air therearound.

3. In combination with a vehicle body having a slidable window closurelying in an area the front portion of which, when the vehicle is inmotion through the air, is at reduced pressure, while the rear portionof such area is at relatively higher pressure, ventilationcontrollingmeans for regulating the airflow through the window when 5open, comprising a baffle extending longitudinally of and close besidethe top of the closure and lying principally in said high pressure area,an inlet air duct extending around the rear end portion of the bafflehaving an inlet lying immediately inside the plane of the closure memberand in said high pressure area when the window is open, said duct havingan outlet inside the vehicle, the space forward of the baflie and lyingbehind the low pressure area comprising an outlet opening through whichair may be drawn from the vehicle when the window is open, whereby theinlet duct and outlet opening may be regulated by opening and closingmovement of the closure.

4. In combination with a vehicle having a slidable window closure memberlying in an area the front portion of which, when the vehicle is inmotion through the air, is at reduced pressure while the rear portion isat relatively higher pressure, ventilation controlling means forregulating the airflow into and out of the window when open induced bysaid high and low pressure areas, comprising a baffle extendinglongitudinally of the top of the closure and close to the plane thereofthe active portion of the baffle lying principally in said area ofhigher pressure, an inlet air duct extending around the rear end portionof the baffle, having an inlet opening arranged directly inside theclosure member and opening toward the outside in such manner that it maybe controlled by operation of the closure member, the closure memberbeing movable to simultaneously expose said inlet opening and the areaforward of the baffle, the latter area being adapted to serve as anoutlet through which air may be drawn from the vehicle by reason of thepresence of the ow pressure area immediately outside the same.

WILLIAM L. STONEHOUSE.

